"Take him down."
Vincent's command was barely out of his mouth. When two humanoid shapes moved instantly in the shadows of the hall.
They were the two elites that reached the third floor much earlier than Vincent and Nova. They hid and were just waiting for an opportunity to strike the target.
A behemoth of a man whose footsteps cracked the floor like miniature earthquakes charged first to Ronan.
His fists, wrapped in reinforced combat wraps, were already glowing faintly with surging power. Each step was a short burst of compressed force.
"Let's see what's left of the legend!" he bellowed, voice booming like a war drum.
Ronan's eyes narrowed as Giga closed the distance.
From the side, a second figure flanked in, the man was tall, lean and wielding a black steel spear that shimmered faintly. He moved like flowing water, each motion graceful and calculated.
"Don't overextend, man!" Pierce called to Giga coolly, twirling his spear into a high guard. "Stick to what we do."
"I know, I know," Giga grunted as he threw the first punch, a wild hook that whistled through the air.
Ronan ducked the strike, body dipping low.
The second blow came almost instantly, a sharp jab toward his midsection.
Ronan caught it for a second.
Then Giga twisted, planting his foot and launching a full shoulder slam that knocked Ronan off balance.
Before he could recover, Pierce slid in from behind, spear aimed straight for the back of Ronan's knee.
Ronan jumped just in time but Pierce had already adjusted.
He spun, switching grip mid-strike, and sliced upward with the shaft of the spear, clipping Ronan's ribs with the flat. A dull thwack echoed as the force pushed Ronan back a step.
"I expected more from him." Pierce noted, voice calm, focused.
"Yeah, he doesn't look like much." Giga barked, already barreling forward again.
The two moved like they'd done this a hundred times. Coordination is an advantage especially in a fight, where anything can happen.
Giga would swing wide, brute strength leading the charge. Pierce stayed at mid-range, poking through gaps with lightning-precise spear thrusts, creating layers of pressure that forced Ronan to constantly shift or block.
For the time being, Ronan was on the defensive.
He pivoted to parry Giga's crushing hook, only to stumble into Pierce's spear jabbing toward his shoulder.
He ducked, twisted and barely rolled away.
Dust kicked up under his boots. His coat billowed, sliced at the edge.
"Getting cornered, old man?" Giga jeered, fists raised.
Ptui.
Ronan spat out blood, his lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer. "You two rehearse that routine? That was good. Let me try now."
"AHHHH!"
Giga lunged with the same ferocity, but Ronan didn't retreat. This time he sidestepped into the path of the punch, letting it graze past his skin.
He reached under Giga's arm, grabbed his belt strap, and yanked him forward into Pierce's line of sight. His spear was already mid-thrust.
"Shit!"
Pierce twisted at the last moment, pulling the attack wide and backpedaling.
But that single misstep was all Ronan needed.
He spun, letting go of Giga mid-motion, and delivered a backhand to the brute's temple. The impact cracked like thunder. Giga staggered, his vision flickering from the impact to the head.
"Fuck!" Pierce cursed, eyes narrowing glancing at Giga staggering.
Ronan's knuckles flexed. His breathing slowed. A faint shimmer of energy now coiled around him like a living aura.
"Keep your spear up," he said mockingly, "before I turn it into a walking stick."
Pierce was the one who initiated first, he lunged at Ronan but his opponent read the strike before it began.
He stepped inside the arc of the spear, slapped the shaft down, and elbowed Pierce in the throat.
Pierce coughed, stumbling back, clutching his neck.
Giga came in with a roar.
Ronan pivoted, catching Giga's momentum and redirecting it with a shoulder throw.
The massive man hit the ground with a quake.
BOOM!
Ronan didn't stop.
He turned, catching Pierce by the collar as the elite tried to recover, and kneed him in the gut, then spun and drove his heel into Giga's ribs as the brute started to rise.
"I've fought many battles. People who bled for real causes," Ronan growled, voice low and shaking with fury. "You think coordination makes up for cowardice?"
He ducked under a desperate slash from Pierce, then headbutted him square on the bridge of the nose.
Pierce crumpled.
"Thought you had me," Ronan muttered, wiping a trail of blood from his lip.
A low grunt sounded behind him.
Giga was already rising again, blood on his jaw, eyes wild.
He didn't speak. He just charged like a wild bull heading toward the red cape.
BAM!
Ronan caught the charge, both arms braced, but Giga's sheer momentum drove them both across the floor. His boots carved trenches in the stone as he skidded.
CRACK!
His back slammed into the wall, spiderwebbing the concrete behind him.
Ronan's breath left him in a hard grunt. Giga didn't let up.
Massive hands seized Ronan by the vest, lifting him just slightly off the ground before ramming a brutal knee into his gut. Once. Twice. A third time.
Ronan coughed, teeth bared, the third blow folding him in half.
"Got you now," Giga muttered through gritted teeth, voice like grinding gravel.
"You talk too much!" Ronan growled.
He headbutted Giga again but this time, it barely fazed the brute. Giga reeled for a heartbeat, but powered through, grabbing Ronan by the collar and slamming him in the wall.
Pierce was already moving.
His spear spun in a tight circle, slicing air as he stepped in, his angle sharp, precise.
"Giga, move!" Pierce called.
But Ronan caught the blur from the corner of his eye. In a flash, he drove his elbow up into Giga's skull, snapping the massive man's head back with a sickening crack.
Blood burst from the impact. Giga's eyes rolled white as his body collapsed, heavy and slow.
Pierce's eyes narrowed.
In one smooth motion, he adjusted his stance positioning himself just behind the falling brute and drove his spear between Giga's ribs and arm, aiming straight for Ronan's heart.
The spearhead flashed. A strike meant to kill.